Hey /r/greatdanes my boy Ramses is sitting around 110 at 7 months and he is getting really close to out growing his crate. Here is the crate 54"L x 37"W x 45"H. It says it is for dogs 125lb and above, but Ramses has to lower his head and because of that can't really fully extend his neck.

So I was wondering; do you still crate train when they get full grown? Is my dane is danger in this crate? What other options have you explored?

We have a smaller female but even she can bump her head on the top of the crate if she stands up perfectly straight. The subject came up recently in this this thread although the focus was more on the strength of available crates. One of the more helpful suggestions from samemistaketwice was to build an Dane-sized crate similar to this

I have the same crate from Midwest and Hunter is pretty much the same as Ramses (7 months / 110 lb as of Jan 23). He has the same problem if he's standing up and sometimes he has a problem settling in (because he has to walk circles inside the crate before he can comfortably sit down). Some times it is obvious that he's feeling claustrophobic in there.

I don't think there are crates that are overall larger than the one you have (or at least I didn't find any in my research).

With Hunter, he's generally okay with free roam because 1) he gets plenty of outdoor exercise, 2) he has plenty of his own things to chew on and 3) I have a gallon of bitter apple around the house and he knows I'm not afraid to use it.

I would suggest exhausting him and giving him toys while he's out so he learns boundaries and good behavior. I'm sure Ramses is not in danger, worst case he'll probably be uncomfortable when standing (then again dogs will usually settle down and not stand around in a crate).

Thanks for all the information about free roaming. We think that we are going to start with him in our room then slowly open the rest of the house for him. I know he loves his crate, because when he gets stressed he will want to retreat to his 'den' and that is something I don't want to take away.

I know that he is really likes our room, so I think we want to make the mental transition from den is crate to den is bedroom. We have a 5 month year old and Ramses loves getting anything related to baby, so that is going to be our first hurdle is getting him to leave stuff like that alone.